Islandstuck
by MixandMatchJellyRoll
Summary: Takes place on sgrub-less AU Alternia. Karkat somehow finds himself stuck on an island with no means of leaving. Eridan is the only one who can get to him. Meanwhile, Vriska gets kicked out of her hive and has to spend a couple days at Tavros's.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! Welcome to my second fanfiction. The first one I did was called Boredstuck, so if you haven't read that one, go check it out! I probably won't be updating every day for this one like I did with the ****aforementioned, but I hope to be updating frequently nonetheless. If the summary wasn't clear, this story takes place in an alternate version of Alternia where sgrub never existed. It has some pretty out-there ships (one being especially prominent) but you should know that I am one to ship pretty much everyone with everyone. I have no OTP because I love almost every ship I come across. Except, you know, I feel bad shipping Dirk with girls. Which is bizarre because I ship John, who is "not a homosexual", with a ton of male characters. **

**Shit, I'm rambling. Oh well (or should I say _wwell) _here's to another hopefully not awful, extremely OOC, shippy fan-fic. Enjoy!**

**-MaMJR**

* * *

Sea salt.

You smell sea salt.

What? Why does your respite block smell like sea salt? And why does your head hurt so much. You groan, rubbing your eyelids. Your eyes start to sting as you accidentally rub salt into them.

"Fuck!"

You sit up quickly, wincing at the throbbing that occurs in your head. Your eyes burn from the salt so you can't open them. You feel like you are sitting on sand. You feel the ground with your hands and confirm that sand is indeed what you are sitting on. Judging by the sound of waves and smell of sea salt, you would guess that you were at a beach.

Why would you be at a beach? You blink your eyes slowly open, wiping away the tears that are flushing away the sand and see the rolling ocean waves underneath the moon. Behind you is a jungle, thick with trees.

You shiver, realizing that you are wet and cold. Your clothes are soaking wet, sand-encrusted and in tatters.

What happened?

You think you were talking to Gamzee. Oh right! He was trying to introduce you to his luscus. You remember waiting with him at the beach for hours. You finally gave up and got up to leave. Gamzee grabbed the back of your shirt and pulled you closer to the water, begging you to wait a little longer for the "motherfucking miracles" to happen.

You pushed him away, causing him to stumble backwards and fall into the water. He sat in the ankle-deep water cluelessly for a good five minutes before you went to go help him up. The moment you stepped one foot in the water, a giant sea serpent burst out of the ocean.

You don't remember much after that.

You groan, pushing yourself to your feet. This isn't the same beach. Where are you? And how did you get here? You decide to walk along the shoreline to see if you get anywhere.

As you walk, you rub your arms, trying to warm them up. You wince at the contact. It almost feels like your skin is burned. You guess you were unconscious all day. It must have been last night you were hanging out with Gamzee.

Your thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a splash behind you. You whip around and slip on the wet sand. You fall on your ass and let out a long string of curses.

"Oh. You're awwake."

You look up to see Eridan Ampora standing over you, his cape and scarf fluttering in the ocean breeze. You scramble to your feet, not caring that you're flinging wet sand everywhere.

"What do you mean I'm awake? You saw me when I was unconscious? Where are we? How did I get here? What the fuck is going on?"

Eridan twists his scarf in his hands. You note that his clothes are completely dry and clean. Only his hair is wet.

"Wwell, I wwas just swwimin around and I heard a splash so I wwent towwards the noise. I saww you floatin and I kneww you're a land dwweller…"

He trails off, looking sheepish.

"So you brought me here." You finish for him.

He nods.

"Where exactly is 'here'?" You ask, trying to keep your temper under control.

"It's an island I found a wwhile ago."

"An island?" You grit your teeth in frustration. "Why the fuck would you take me to an island? How in shit-writhing hell am I supposed to get back to my hive?"

Eridan flinches.

"It wwas the closest dry land." He whines.

"Perfect. This is just shit-flipping perfect. I'm stuck on this hellhole of an island with no conceivable way of getting off and the only troll who knows where the fuck I am is an insufferable cape douche who wants to bring death and massacre to every troll who lives on land!"

Eridan frowns, tugging at his sleeve.

"I could just carry you back." He says.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Like I'd trust you not to just let me drown."

He crosses his arms and sticks out his bottom lip.

"I wwouldn't do that." He says.

You scoff.

"Sure you 'wwouldn't.'"

Eridan grits his teeth, pushing his fists down so that his arms are as straight as sticks.

"You knoww wwhat? Fine. Get back yourself or stay here for all I care."

He storms off into the water. It takes you a moment before you realize what is happening.

"Wait! Fuck. No, I didn't—"

But it's too late. He has already dived into the waves. You shake your fist at the rolling ocean and let out a long string of curses. When you are done, you pull at your hair and fall to your knees.

"See if I care! I'll get back on my own! I don't need you!"

You pant heavily after your little tantrum. A pinprick of light grows on the horizon. Fuck. The sun is coming up. You'd better find some shelter soon or your eyes are going to start to hurt pretty badly.

You trudge up the beach, feeling your digestion sack rumble. You realize you haven't eaten since last night. Oh well, that will have to wait. You approach the edge of the jungle and curl up under the protection of the trees. Your eyelids grow heavy and sleep beckons to you.

Your name is Karkat Vantas. You are cold, hungry, wet and alone. And yet for the first time in sweeps you find that sleep comes easily. You drift off into a deep slumber just as the sun is becoming a stripe of orange light over the horizon.


	2. Chapter 2

You are involved in a particularly interesting fiduspawn match between yourself and Tinkerbull, when you hear a loud, heavy knocking on the door. You excuse yourself from the match, knowing that tinkerbull doesn't care either way, and go to answer the door.

You open the door to find Vriska leaning against the doorframe.

"Heeeeeeeey Tavros." She says, grinning.

"Oh, uh, hi Vriska." You say, letting a small fake smile rest on your face, "Would you, uh, like to come in?"

She slings a bag over her shoulder and steps through the doorway, into the foyer. You take a deep breath to steady yourself before closing the door and following Vriska. You find her in your living block, making herself at home on your couch.

"Do want anything to drink?" You ask, still a little put off by her sudden appearance at your hive.

"Do you have any soda?" She asks.

"Let me check." You say, even though you know that you do.

You wheel yourself to the nutrition block and open the thermal hull. You let the cool air wash over you before calling out to Vriska.

"Root beer or Sprite?"

The root beer is yours; the Sprite is for Tinkerbull. He likes it, but you can't stand the stuff.

"Sprite." Vriska calls from the living block.

You grab a can for her and a root beer for yourself. You return to the living block to find her sprawled out across your couch with her bag under her knees. At first, you think she doesn't notice you come in, but then she holds her hand out for the soda. You position your four-wheeled device next to the couch and hand her the Sprite.

You watch as Vriska cracks open the can with a satisfying hiss and takes a long drink, without thanking you, you might add. Not that you were expecting it. You pass your own soda can from hand to hand.

"So… uh, why are you here?" You ask.

Vriska doesn't answer, still gulping soda steadily. You shrink back in your four-wheeled device as you wait for her to finish. Finally, she pulls the can away from her mouth and sighs, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

"I need a place to crash for a couple of days." She says, swirling the little liquid left over in the now almost-empty can.

You blink in surprise.

"Oh. What happened?" You ask.

She glares at you like you stepped over some unspoken line. You guess it's kind of a prying question, or it would be if she wasn't currently sitting on your couch, drinking your soda in your hive and asking for a place to stay. Despite the apparent insensitivity of your question, Vriska answers.

"Spider-mom's going on a rampage." She says, "Apparently she's not very happy with that 'troll-substitute' Kanaya recommended. So I locked her in the hive and I'm not going back until she gets over herself and eats that shit."

"Oh." You say quietly. You know Kanaya has been trying to get Vriska to stop feeding trolls to her luscus for some time now, and you guess it finally worked. Apparently her luscus is having a hard time adjusting to her new diet. Maybe if you communed with her, you could help her understand. But Vriska's never let you commune with her luscus before.

"Why my hive?" You ask.

"It wasn't my first choice, believe me." She scoffs.

You wait for her to elaborate, but she doesn't. You assume everyone she asked before you turned her away. It's not suprising.

"So where can I sleep?" She asks, not even waiting for your consent. You sigh. It's not like you would say no anyway.

"You could, uh, sleep right here. On the couch." You suggest. She ponders for a moment.

"Fine. It's not like I would want to use your stinky old recupracoon anyway." She says, shrugging. She swings her legs off of the sofa. "I need to use the ablution trap."

You point towards the hall.

"It's, uh, that way. First block on the left."

Vriska spins on her heel and starts in the direction you were pointing in. You sigh and mutter something under your breath. She stops in her tracks and turns slowly back to face you, frowning.

"What was that?" You freeze.

"Nothing." You say, quickly.

Vriska squints at you. You grip your armrests tightly and press yourself against the back of your chair as she steps towards you, sprite still in hand. She sits on your lap, placing one knee on either side of your legs. She grabs your chin, forcing you to look up at her. You gulp.

"What did you say?" She says, amusement flickering in her eyes.

You feel your chin quiver under her cold fingers.

"I said it, uh, takes a while for the hot water to uh, kick in." You lie, "In the ablution trap I mean."

She smiles.

"That's what I thought."

You allow yourself to relax slightly, which turns out to be a mistake. Vriska squeezes your jaw, forcing your mouth open, and lifts her soda can to your mouth. You choke as she pours the last of it down your protein chute.

Vriska gets off of you as you cough, pushing your four-wheeled device back a couple of feet, and tossing the empty can on the floor. You look up just in time to see her curvy form retreating down the hall to the ablution block.

You open your root beer and take a sip, trying to wash the taste of the other soda out of your mouth. You allow yourself to think the words you voiced quietly earlier.

This is going to be a long couple of days.

* * *

**Hey! So here is chapter 2 after more than a week in between updates. Sorry about that. Christmas and holidays and such. I'm sure you understand. :)**

**I don't love this subplot actually. I think it's kind of boring and dumb. :P Oh well.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Wwake up landdwweller."

The toe of a shoe prods you in the back. You hiss and scramble away, jumping into a crouched position. You look up to see the face of a certain asswad staring down at you condescendingly.

"Somewwone's feelin' jumpy." He says, smiling slightly.

You flip him off and fall back onto your heels, suddenly dizzy from waking up too quickly.

Eridan reaches down and places his hand on your shoulder.

"Are you ok?" He asks.

You smack his hand away.

"Don't touch me dunkass." You say, baring your teeth.

He snarls and crosses his arms.

"Wwhatewer."

You rub your eyelids in exasperation. That was the best sleep you've had in sweeps and he ruined it. Judging by the darkness of the sky, it's been a while since sundown, so you guess it is a suitable time to wake up. Still, you can't help feeling a little dejected.

"What do you want fish-face?" You snap.

Eridan averts his eyes from you and reaches into his pocket.

"I thought you might be hungry." He mutters, tossing something on the sand in front of you.

You pick it up. It's a grubsteak sandwich, wrapped in plastic. You unwrap it quickly, tossing the plastic aside. The grubsteak is slimy and the yeast loaf slices are soggy and the whole thing smells like seawater, but you scarf it down anyway, grateful that you have something to satiate your hunger.

You swallow the last bite, not completely satisfied. Your digestion sack is still not full.

"Here." Eridan says, tossing you a peach. You catch it and sink your fangs into it without hesitating. It too tastes like seawater but somehow the saltiness compliments the sweetness in a surprisingly tasty way.

You finish it quickly and toss the pit away, licking the sticky, sweet juice off of your fingers. You freeze as you notice Eridan looking down at you in contempt.

"What?" You ask. He shakes his head.

"Disgusting landscum." He says, shuddering slightly.

"Yea well fuck you too." You say, resuming your finger licking.

Eridan catches your wrist before you can lick the last one and runs his own tongue along it, staring you directly in the eyes as he does.

When you realize what just happened, you yank your arm away and hold it to your chest as if he could take it away from you.

"What the fuck was that?" You ask, jumping to your feet.

You can feel your face burning up. Shit. You can't let him see you blush. You grab the neck of your torn, sand crusted shirt and pull it all the way up over your nose.

"What are you doing?" He asks, completely ignoring your question. He steps closer.

"Get away from me you sick fuck!"

You turn and run, stumbling clumsily in the sand. Eridan doesn't follow you, but you keep running. You don't look back until you are far enough away that the spot you slept in is merely a pinprick in the distance. You fall to your knees, panting heavily. You know the blood is rushing to your face.

That was close. Too close. You don't usually like hanging around other trolls, even your friends. If you get even the smallest cut or cry a single tear, even if you get too flustered, it's all over.

"Fuck!" You scream, grabbing a handful of sand and throwing it. You breathe heavily, wanting to punch something but knowing that it would only result in you hurting yourself.

Your breathing slows gradually. You fall back on your rear and burry your head in your arms.

Fucking Eridan. That sexually frustrated douche bag has got to stop invading everyone's personal space. Particularly yours.

You grit your teeth in frustration. You still have to find a way off of this island, which means talking to him. You figure you can put it off for a while though. You're really not in the right shape to talk to anyone right now.

A hand on your shoulder interrupts your thoughts.

"Are you alright Kar?"

Fuck. You take a deep breath, making sure your face has cooled down completely, before looking up at him calmly.

"I thought I told you not to fucking touch me." You say, shrugging off his hand. You push yourself to your feet, attempting to brush the sand off of your clothes but failing miserably. There is sand everywhere. You are never getting this stuff off.

Eridan watches you.

"You knoww," he says, "I could bring you some clean clothes."

You bite back the insult that dances on the tip of your tongue.

"That would be helpful." You admit.

He nods, sticking his hands in his pockets. You rub the back of your neck awkwardly.

"Hey." You say. "Thanks."

He looks at you quizzically, pushing up his hipster glasses.

"For wwhat?"

"For coming back."

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**Ok. 'Nother chapter. I have been going REEEEEEEEEALLLY slow with this one. Oops. It's just not flowing as well as boredstuck did. Also I have other ideas for other stories which I am forcing myself to supres so that I can finish this one. And that is frustrating. XD Oh well! It shouldn't be a big deal. :)**


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